And A Mommy In A Pear Tree

Those of you that have been to any of our house concerts probably have heard me say that Walmart is the place I go to be alone. It’s a fact. There’s something about it that really relaxes me. Anyway, if you haven’t read the first Walmart story, you should. And you can read it here and you can get a free song along with it. There’s a continuation, too, which you can read here.

This morning was another one where I went to Walmart to get out of the house and get some space to think . . . and to get some laundry detergent and toilet paper at the same time. You see, I don’t know if you’ve caught on to this in my posts–I don’t think I’ve written much about it–but these last couple months have been heavy with change. Tim got a new job, things are different in scheduling-land as a result, and, like with everyone else it seems, these couple months have also been tainted with financial strain as we move from one thing to the next.

Truthfully, it’s been really hard. I’ve been frustrated and confused, because I’ve felt like it’s thrown me into a funk I just haven’t been able to shake. Something got thrown off-kilter in my heart, and I haven’t been able to put my finger on what it was.

Until this last weekend, that is, when a family we love came to stay with us. As we were sharing our stories together around the dinner table, someone posed this question: what do you imagine would bring the relief to your heart that you desire? Good question.

When I closed my eyes to try and picture what that thing would be, do you know what came to mind? Not a huge new house. Not a huge check in the mail.

But a faucet running full-force into the sink of my heart.

The relief I desired had nothing to do with prospering financially, but it had everything to do with prospering spiritually. Somehow my faucet had gotten turned off, or at least pulled down to tiny drips, and God felt distant, quieter than usual.  That picture gave me a few things to think about.

So this morning, as I pulled into the parking lot of Wal-Mart, I caught myself praying again that God would prosper us financially. But I remembered the picture of the faucet, and I knew that there was a better way for me to pray.

Now, I don’t think it’s wrong at all to pray for financial prosperity. But for me, my prayer this morning stemmed from my faulty spiritual lenses. I had allowed finances, material things, to be the things I sought from the Lord instead of his face. So I had something new to repent for. And I did repent.

Instead of praying that the Lord prosper me financially, I have now decided that I’m going to pray that he prosper me spiritually. Instead of seeking his riches in my bank account, I’m going to seek his riches in my spirit.

You have no idea how good and right and cleansing in my spirit this felt.

And like it’s happened to me in the Walmart parking lot before, the Holy Spirit met me there. And, as he so wonderfully promises, the refreshing of the Lord filled my car and, for the first time in two months, my heart felt relieved and refocused and full of life.